The Man from Shadow Creek by Rachel Armstrong is a suspenseful rural romance set in Australia .
This is the second book in The Shadow Creek series. However, you don’t need to have read the first to enjoy the characters and story – the book stands alone well.
Adam Maguire, good looking bachelor, and town bad boy, parties hard on his birthday. He wakes up alone in Elizadale Memorial Park with no memory of who he had partied with or even exactly what he had done. With the worst hangover ever, and worried about his lack of memory, he wonders if his drink had been spiked. He seriously hopes his actions will not come back to haunt him.
Shocked by his actions, Adam decides, now he is 28 it is time to rethink and take life more seriously. Some months prior he had made a clean break with his ex. Now he will focus on his woodworking skill and develop his business.
Dr. Natalia Hamilton has left Sydney to take a 2-year position in the small rural community of Elizadale. Natalia desperately needs a new start. She has lost her confidence after suffering sexual harassment at her previous workplace. Elizadale is where her sister Ana has settled after meeting her soul mate Liam, and it should be the perfect place for Natalia to recharge and find her old self.
Dating is the last thing on her mind.
Ana is showing Natalia around the town when Adam pulls up on his motorbike. The obvious chemistry between Adam and Natalia has Ana worried.
As their romance develops, for the first time in his life Adam thinks about settling down. Natalia is the love of his life.
But, what happened on Adam’s birthday and will the consequences of that night destroy the developing love between Adam and Natalia?
This is an excellent read. It is Adam and Natalia’s emotional journey and their love story.
The book is well-written and the characters are very relatable. The book is hard to put down with plenty of suspense and twists which keep you turning the pages.
In a sensitive way, the book handles sexual abuse, harassment, and entrapment in the workplace and social settings.
An added bonus is Rachel Armstrong is an exercise physiologist in cardiac rehabilitation. She has used Natalia’s character to promote healthy eating.
Thank you to Beauty and Lace for the opportunity to read this excellent book.
A selection of our members are reading The Man From Shadow Creek by Rachel Armstrong. You can read their feedback below, or add your own review.

I love to read, any book on any topic. I now love ebooks as they are easier to store, I was running out of bookshelves! My other interests are family, gardening and our beautiful King Charles spaniel dog who is my reading companion.
I was honoured to be chosen to read and review The Man From Shadow Creek by Rachel Armstrong. I absolutely loved Home Among the Palm Trees so knew this book would be the same.
We are introduced to Adam at the beginning of the story and he is known as a bad boy who doesn’t always make the best decisions. Bring in Dr Natalia Hamilton who has a history of her own and you know that interesting things will happen!
This book will have you on the edge of your seat until the very last page! You will fall in love with the characters and beg for more stories on every character!
Rachel has a way of making you fall in love with her story and feeling like you are part of it. (and finding out there’s a dog with the same name and breed as yours is pretty awesome too!)
Congratulations on another magnificent read! Cannot wait for the next book!
The man from shadow Creek is the 2nd book in the Shadow Creek Series.
This time we meet Ana’s sister Natalia.
Another fantastic read by Rachel Armstrong! I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Natalia and Adam and the relationship they have.
I received this book to review through the Beauty and Lace Book Club.
I look forward to reading more about the Shadow Creek Gang.
The Man From Shadow Creek by Rachel Armstrong is book two of The Shadow Creek series and although I have not read book one (Home Among The Palm Trees), I didn’t feel I was lacking any prior knowledge and thoroughly enjoyed this story as a stand alone book.
The chemistry between Dr Natalia Hamilton and banana farmer Adam Maguire is instant. But can two people dealing with their own insecurities as victims of sexual harassment and entrapment overcome these demons to find their happily ever after? This book was a real page turner that had me up until 1am because I had to keep reading and find out what happened.
Thank you Beauty and Lace and Rachel Armstrong for the opportunity to read and review this book.
Thankyou Beauty and Lace and Racheal Armstrong for the opportunity to read and review The Man from Shadow Creek.
I enjoyed reading the journey between the new Dr in Shadow Creek Natalia and the handsome banana farmer with a bad boy reputation Adam.
Adam finds himself alone and unconscious in a park one morning and it is believed by the town that this is just another of Adams big mistakes.
Natalia has come to Shadow Creek to join her sister and has bought with her her insecurities after being labeled and sexually harassed.
The instant attraction between the two is thrown into jeopardy after Adam is accused of fathering a child on the night he can’t remember.
I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who would like a easy read romance.
Thank you so much Beauty and Lace and Rachael Armstrong for letting me read and review The Man From Shadow Creek.
I haven’t read Rachael’s previous work but I am now going to after reading this page turner.
I really liked the characters, they both stood out individually and even better together. Their chemistry was very intense from the start and you could tell that this novel was going to be addictive.
Each had their own issues they had been battling before they met and the book also delved into those throughout the journey.
I highly recommend reading this awesome novel.
The Man from Shadow Creek is another great read written by Rachel Armstrong. Rachel makes you feel at home with the characters who who would not love Adam and Natalia. Light hearted and yet serious at the same time. A country romance which encapsulates true life!
A welcome and positive story.
Thank-you Beauty & Lace for giving me the chance to read & review ‘The man from Shadow Creek by Rachel Armstrong’.
After a night out celebrating which resulted in Adam having no memories he decides to clean up his act and begin the rest of life afresh. Natalia wanting to escape her own unhappy life in Sydney, joins her sister in Elendale as the new town GP. When Adam and Natalia meet sparks fly, but can either trust the feelings they are now beginning to have? Will fate have another ending to their story.
I enjoyed this easy to read love story, the characters were relatable, dealing with life’s ups and downs, whilst falling madly in love. Thank you ‘Beauty & Lace Bookclub’ for the opportunity to read ‘The man from Shadow Creek by Rachel Armstrong’.
Another lovely story about the Shadow Creek gang that lets us catch up with some old friends as well as make some new ones. Rachel Armstrong writes a good story that makes you want to keep reading. There are already two more Shadow Creek books due out this year and I can’t wait! Thank you so much Beauty and Lace for letting me review this book >:o)
I read the first book in this series (Home Among the Palm Trees) and found it very pleasant. It would help to read the first book first, as the characters in Shadow Creek are many and varied – I found the introductions to everyone a bit dizzying at first, even though I was familiar with some. But Rachel Armstong concentrates on the few you do need to know for this book. It has a lot of depth, with a romance (always welcome), and issues of unwanted pregnancies, ongoing sexual harassment, date rape, drink spiking and spreading public lies and accusations – and some people believe the wrong thing, which is very distressing. It all became quite intense at times. Adam and Natalia were a good couple, though, and there was a HEA ending.
Thanks to Beauty & Lace and Rachel Armstrong for the review copy.
After reading the first book, I was happy to read the second one.
I enjoyed it very much. It was good to read how Adam and Natalia get together and deal with obstacles in their way. Looking forward to more of these books.
Oh how I love Rachel Armstrongs writing style. Her books are absolute page turners. I had read ‘Home among the Palm Trees’, and absoultely loved it. Dare I say that this next book in the seies, The Man from Shadow Creek, is even more enthralling. From the firstpage, to the last, it draws you in, and before you know it, hours have passed, and you haven’t book the book down!
This one is a love story of 2 opposite types of people, a Qld country bad boy wood crafter/banana farmer, and a city Doctor, Natalia, spending some time in the country to enhance her resume’, but they have so many challenges to overcome. The story touches on sexual and character harrassment, as well as drug spiking an ususpecting man, Adam, whilst celebrating his birthday. This one night turns Adam and Natalias budding love story, and careers, into complete turmoil. Will their growing love carry them through, and will the villian in this page turning story be found out and get what is coming to her?
Thank you Rachel Armstrong for another brilliant read, and to Beauty & Lace for the opportunity. I can’t wait to read the next story in the series.
‘The Man from Shadow Creek’ is book two of the Shadow Creek series written by the fabulous Rachel Armstrong. I have also read ‘Home among the Palm Trees’ which was our introduction to the Elizadale community.
Each book centres on two key characters, in this story Adam Maguire (the resident bad boy) and Doctor Natalia Hamilton who has moved to town to escape the city and be closer to her sister Ana (who the first book was based on). These books can be read as standalone stories, but I did find reading the first one helped, plus to be honest it is so good getting an update on the characters from book one, Ana and Liam. I have always enjoyed reading series based around a town/characters as each time you read a new book it is like coming home.
I would class these books as rural suspense with romance and a hint of humour, once again I found when I start one of Rachel’s books, I keep going until I finish.
Adam wakes from a big night and he has no recollection of events which is enough to make him want to change his ways but will the people around him and the town allow him to do that.
Natalia needs to escape from the city and a colleague’s harassment so moving to be near her sister is perfect timing. She is not interested in dating anyone, but Adam catches her eye and their friendship blossoms. There are so many twists and turns in the story that it will keep you turning the pages into the night. Enjoy!
I love getting to read books in a series where you don’t have to have read book 1 to be able to follow book 2. Although I will be reading book 1 because I loved the story line of The Man From Shadow Creek. Adam & Natalia are great characters and bring their own jazz to the story, Rachel Armstrong has amazing talent and can’t wait for what comes next
Second book in the season and romance and controversy is on the horizon.
Natalia decides to join her sister Ana in a small country town where Ana fell head over heels for her soon to be husband, Liam. She needs a change from city life medicine, where she is treated like an object, not a person, where she is not able to expand her learning. Joining the practice in this small regional area should help her develop patient relationships, to increase her skills, to grow as a doctor.
Adam had a major eye opener after his birthday gathering left him not knowing how the night ended, short of roughly. Perhaps now is the time to turn his life around, start making something of himself, other than the “bad boy” reputation he has from his past. But its a small town, he’s got a challenge to change the minds of people who know his history, too well. He’s lucky he’s got good family ties, and his cousin Liam to help guide him to better himself.
Chance meeting of Natalia and Adam had them both thinking “wow”. But will their past cause them to miss a chance at a life?
Loved the story, even better as it was the second of these tales that swept me away from my real life. Thanks to Rachel Armstrong, keep them coming, and Beauty and Lace for an awesome read.